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Topic: Swiss cheese (Read 2202 times)

I read someone coated thier baby swiss cheese with cream cheese, can this be done ? I'm making one and still out at room tem. For 2 weeks now.was going to let a natural rine develope. What would anyone out there do?

I wouldn't do the cream cheese coating. Never heard of that. Seems like you'd be really guaranteed to develop molds with a fresh cheese like that on the rind. If molds appear, keep after it with vinegar & salt.

Wash every day for 10 days. Turn the cheese over and wash the sides and the face that will now be up. Don't wash the face that will be down or it will be too wet and might mold.

After 10 days, you can wash it maybe once or twice a week for the next several months until it has a good golden rind, after this it is not going to mold, and you can let the rind dry without risk of cracking.

The use of wine has 2 benefits. 1 the alcohol sterilizes the surface and kills any mold that might hope to grow. 2 the yeasts in the wine will grow and thrive on the surface of the cheese, contributing to the development of the rind. Some folks use bacterial linens for the same reasons. But wine is simple, and very easy to do and is nearly foolproof, and very traditional.

Once you have mold, if you wipe it down with wine the mold isn't coming back. Although if you have a developed rind culture, the wine can kill it off too.

what type of tool do you use to wash your cheese? That can also make a difference.

The best is a brush of some sort with fairly soft bristles. This will generate a nice paste with the washing solution as you wash the cheese. A too stif brusch will pull up grains from the rind, and a cloth will just smear around a lot.

Wash every day for 10 days. Turn the cheese over and wash the sides and the face that will now be up. Don't wash the face that will be down or it will be too wet and might mold.

After 10 days, you can wash it maybe once or twice a week for the next several months until it has a good golden rind, after this it is not going to mold, and you can let the rind dry without risk of cracking.

The use of wine has 2 benefits. 1 the alcohol sterilizes the surface and kills any mold that might hope to grow. 2 the yeasts in the wine will grow and thrive on the surface of the cheese, contributing to the development of the rind. Some folks use bacterial linens for the same reasons. But wine is simple, and very easy to do and is nearly foolproof, and very traditional.

Once you have mold, if you wipe it down with wine the mold isn't coming back. Although if you have a developed rind culture, the wine can kill it off too.

Good steerage. Thank you for this. A cheese to you for newly-added information.

For an alpine cheese from which Emmentaler is probably derived, the practice would be to wash it on occasion for a few months, and then let it dry off. During the maturation period, they aren't washed -they are dried and well colonized by desirable bacteria, and will not mold. The practice of making Emmentaler itself is pretty rigidly controlled, so an alpine cheese may be a better model if your doing it at home with limited capabilities.

Its 1month. I'v been washing it down with salt sul. And white wine. As i was getting blue mold.the molds under control but now should i quite washing it . The rine seems really dry the cheese is firm.should i oil it?pleas advise

How long do you intend to age it total? 2 mo 3 mo 4mo 6mo 12 mo 24 mo? That will have an effect on how long you wash it, and how you wash it. If you are going to age it 6 months or more, I would recommend you keep it washed at least once a week for 3 or 4 of those months, you need to really build a strong, healthy rind for long term cheeses if you're going for the all natural rind, no vacuum sealing or wax or other such nonsense. And it certainly doesn't hurt to do a maintenance washing now and then either.

If you are going for a 3 or 4 mo cheese (much too short for an Emmentaler, in my opinion. But I've been spoiled I know) then I'd still say to keep it clean for at least 2 months, maybe even right to the end, as long as you give it a week or so to dry off before you bring it out and show it to the world.

No oil ever, that would not be a natural rind, and Cheeses native to the Kanton of Bern tend to be natural or washed rinds almost exclusively. It has an effect on the flavor development of the cheese. Though if you are going for an American-style Swiss, I suppose you can do whatever you want. But I'd recommend no oil.

Oil is more typical for Spanish cheeses. You may want to brush the cheese and also try to see why you have blue mold. It may be yeast contamination (are you baking nearby? Are you touching bread and then touching this cheese?). I think Alpkäserei gave some really good wash guidelines! A cheese for you Alpkäserei@